The Guardians of Palantir

The Dragon Wars

The Dragon Wars

A thousand years ago, the legendary Dragon Wars reduced the Known World to rubble. The Great Kingdom of Thrargok triggered the carnage by sending its orc army to invade the neighbouring lands. To this day, no one knows with certainty why the Orc King Mokûrz pushed for the invasion, but it is believed it was at the insistence of the Thrargok Oracle or of the elder dragon Rortieth, Protector of Thrargok.

In a quest for power, riches and land, the Thrargok army, along with their dragon protector, marched on the neighboring lands. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the lesser kingdoms could either surrender and join King Mokûrz’s ranks, or crumble and perish under the orcs’ swords. Even kingdoms influential enough to have their own dragon protectors were no match for an elder dragon of Rortieth’s might. And so, slowly but surely, the Thrargok army’s ranks swelled, both in soldiers and in dragons. They cut through most of the Westerland before crossing to the Esterlands.

Their conquest would have been absolute if not for The Kingdom of Eldynia. The Eldynian rakshasa, outraged, called upon all remaining free kingdoms to join together in the fight against the Great Kingdom of Thrargok. They united under the name of the Imperium and the rakshasa King Aurelius himself rode with Eldynia’s dragon protector, Denthanus in the vanguard.

No history book can describe the terror of the years that followed. It is said that the Known World’s population dwindled to half what it once had been in the span of two years.

The deciding battle took place in the northern plains of the Esterlands. Dragon fire rained from the sky as tens of thousands of soldiers waged war on the field. The battle lasted five days and six nights. In the end, dead bodies, of soldiers and dragons both, were stacked high on the battlefield. The earth was stained red from the blood (as it is to this day) and reeked of death. Those present knew that nothing would ever grow from it again. History would rename this area the Red Deadlands.

Both armies suffered extreme losses in the battle. The remnants of the Thrargok army returned to the Westerland to regroup. It is unknown how many of their dragons survived.

The Imperium, knowing it was only a matter of time before the Great Kingdom of Thrargok returned with renewed forces, put all their remaining resources into building defenses to circumvent a second invasion of the Esterlands. The lighthouses that bordered the coasts were fortified into magical beacons that, once connected, created a Maelstrom thousands of miles long – enough to enclose and protect the entire Esterlands.

Sadly, the Westerland was lost – along with the Kingdom of Eldynia. It is said that King Mokûrz, upon finding his way across the sea thus permanently blocked, sacked the capital city of the rakshasa kingdom, killing all remaining inhabitants before leaving it in ruins.